Category Archives: News

Two members of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation from Tanzania journeyed to Amherst from March 15 through March 22nd to work with HRG members to advance the ongoing Freshwater Resilience by Design work ongoing. David Munkyala (Rufiji Basin Water Board) and Rosemary Masikini (Wami-Ruvu Basin Water Board) spent a week in Amherst to work with Alec Bernstein, Mariam Allam, Chinedum Eluwa, and Jonathan Lala and gain insight into detailed modeling efforts. Continue reading →

The Hydrosystems Research Group traveled to Tanzania to conduct stakeholder workshops in the Rufiji and Wami-Ruvu basins to advance the ongoing Freshwater Resilience by Design work in the country. The mission team consisted of Alec Bernstein and Jonathan Lala (consultant) and a World Bank team of DC and Dar es Salaam based Water Resources Management Specialists. The mission team worked closely with the Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MOWI) and Rufiji and Wami-Ruvu Basin Water Boards (BWBs) to arrange logistics and convene stakeholders for these meetings. The project mission commenced on Thursday January 18th in Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania in the Wami-Ruvu basin, continued to Iringa in the Rufiji Basin, and concluded in Dar es Salaam on January 24th. Continue reading →

Alec Bernstein attended a workshop convened by the International Hydropower Conference, the World Bank, and the Nordic Development Bank on Hydrologic Risk in Hydropower Dominated Energy Systems in London, UK on November 30th through December 1st. The workshop’s geographic focus was Africa and the main objectives of this training were: (i) to present and discuss the best practices and the new trends internationally adopted in the management of the hydrologic risk in hydropower generation and (ii) inform the representatives from the African countries, potentially exposed, about the suitable mitigation measures and the available hedging mechanisms. Continue reading →

The Hydrosystems Research Group has entered a partnership with the World Bank (WB) and the Government of Tanzania to demonstrate freshwater resilience principles in multiple river basins in Tanzania. Group members Casey Brown and Alec Bernstein participated in a World Bank scoping mission from 19 September, 2017 through 27 September, 2017 to lay the framework and connect with partners in country. Continue reading →

Hydrosystems Research Group members Casey Brown and Alec Bernstein held a workshop during the International Joint Commissions’ Annual Board Meeting in Washington D.C. on May 3rd. The goal of the meeting was to present the Climate Change Guidance Framework developed by the HRG and to conduct a Global Cafe with Board members to solicit feedback on implementing the Guidance Framework. Continue reading →

The week of June 19th, Ph.D. candidate Katherine Schlef visited the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) and the Water Center at Columbia University in New York. While there, Schlef presented to researchers, postdocs, graduate students, and interns and had valuable collaborative meetings. Schlef’s current research is developing long-term projections of the 100 year flood given the uncertainty associated with future climate. Her focus is on two case studies: the Ohio River basin in the American Midwest, and the Sahelian region of West Africa. She benefited greatly from the climate and statistical expertise at IRI and the Water Center, and looks forward to continuing collaborations.